Sunday, 31 March 2013

I've really enjoyed the past week, I feel like I've actually made the most of my time off and I've enjoyed every moment of it. I may have nearly spent my whole pay check in a week but still, it was worth it (though I'm sure that I won't be saying that in a weeks time when I'm desperate for money).

Me, Amy, Toria and Connie (Amy's photograph)

On the Friday evening Dale and I went to Coningsby to see his Nanna, have a meal and stay the night. It was nice. Saturday night I went out with Amy, Toria and Connie and it was honestly one of the best night's out that I've had. There was zero drama and we just had fun; I do love those girls.

On the Monday Becki, Kayleigh and I drove down to Manchester to see Biffy Clyro at Manchester Arena. They were brilliant, there's no doubt about that and the set was pretty cool too. It's the first time I was in standing in a crowd that size and honestly it was pretty daunting to begin with but I really enjoyed it. Being small sucked though, sometimes there were just a few too many heads in the way. I would love to see them live again sometime.

[1]Hobbits [2] Kermit [3]Paperchase

Where we stayed was literally a five minute walk from everything which was pretty good. It may have not been a five star hotel but it was okay for the night so I was fairly happy. We went in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols and oh dear God I have never felt so out of place in a store before. And well they were the last clothing stores that we went in the next were the Lego shop, Disney Store and Paperchase - we have our priorities right. I now have Mr Frodo and Mr Bilbo Baggins to accompany me on adventures. I bought Alice In Wonderland (animated) and Mulan on DVD from the Disney Store as well as a Kermit the frog mug - I really do love my massive Disney mugs. Becki bought a linen spray called 'Wonder' and it really does smell fantastic. And then of course there was Paperchase - I've never seen one as big as the one in Manchester, it was fantastic. I bought quite a few bits and it only came to £12 which wasn't too bad.

Dale and I went to Hull on Thursday and went to The Deep. It was better than I was anticipating and I have to admit that the Jelly Fish were my favourite - I just find them so interesting and strange. I can imagine it being packed with even more kids this week so I'm glad Dale had last week off and not next week. I do love fish!

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

I never have a bad thing to say about CrafyCreatives and this months box theme of 'Steampunk' was just brilliant. As always the box included tons of goodies with my favourites being the kit to make the trinket box, the brown tweed fabric (which I'm itching to have a play with) and the tiny watch parts.

Below is my trinket box which I've been having a go at today. It may not be perfect but I really enjoyed making it which I suppose is the main goal. I used the reel of wire that was included in the box and made a hot air balloon (however it seems to look more like an exclamation mark but nevermind!) and then added the tiny watch parts and the chain to the balloon to decorate it a little bit. It's simple but I like it! I did have a play with the metallic transfer foils and cogs but I haven't quite got the hang of that one yet.

I can't wait to start getting creative with the fabrics - I need to buy some stuffing first however, something which I keep forgetting to do. Admittedly my bedroom hasn't really got the space to be storing millions of CCboxes but I'll find somewhere to keep them (that isn't beside my bed) soon. What I would really love is a desk that I could keep all of my art bits in/around. The calligraphy set that I received from Dale for Christmas hasn't had a chance to come out yet for lack of space - I just don't particularly fancy using my dressing table as a desk, there's already enough on it. This is when I miss the study that is now a spare bedroom.

I forgot to mention that we dressed up at work for Comic Relief. It definitely does make the day go a little bit better - especially when a little girl gasps with wide eyes as she sees your sword. It was a really good day and everyone joined in with half of us ending up being pirates and the other half being animals. Any excuse to dress up and we're there.

Which brings me to the Rocky Horror Show. Becki, Zoe and I went to see it at Grimsby Auditorium on Monday night and it was just so bloody good. I didn't quite know what to expect from the stage show but it was fantastic and done so well. Frank N Furter was cast so well - I was not disappointed - and the way that they did the bedroom scenes with Brad, Janet and Frank N Furter was very clever.

It was brilliant how the majority of the audience really got into it with dressing up and dancing and yelling things out. That's one of the great things about Rocky Horror, how much the audience participates. We dressed up but didn't go over the top - just a corset, shorts, fishnets (or just tights in my case) and pearls. There were some brilliants Frank N Furters there though and quite a lot of Magentas that also looked fantastic. Personally for me the narrator was one of the highlights of the show though, he was just brilliant and would react to the shouts from the audience perfectly - he was hilarious.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

Friday, 15 March 2013

I didn't complete NaNoWriMo in November, it sort of came to head and I couldn't write anymore at the time but I've been dipping back into it recently, looking into the 29,212 words I have written so far and annotating and highlighting bits and pieces that need rewording or just completely rethinking all together. I have a little folder that I'm keeping it all in: the character profiles, the locations, thought processes. I have to admit, I'm really enjoying this and to be honest I think that is exactly how attempting to write a novel should be. What is the point of putting all of your time and effort into something if you aren't going to enjoy it. It's strange to think that this is all based off of a dream that I had in May last year - a dream that I can still vividly remember. I'm quite proud of what I have done so far to be honest.

I'm trying to read a lot more this year, having started with 'This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude Don't Touch It' by David Wong. The book is the sequel to 'John Dies At The End' though you don't necessarily have to read it to enjoy Wong's second book. I love how fun this book is and how once you've started you just can't put it down. It made me laugh and I'm going to admit that I cried pretty damn hard towards the end... but then again most books manage that whether the situation be worthy of tears or not. Truly a fantastic book though, I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

"Shut the fuck up. Did you kill Franky?”
John said, “It was self-defense. And he stole my car, he drove it here
and I had to walk all the way from the police station. Got here just in
time, he was raping Dave when I walked in.”
“He wasn’t-“
“SHUT UP. Both of you. You’re coming with me.” To me he said, “Put some pants on.”
“Fuck you. This is my house. I make the rules. You take your clothes off. John, get the Twister mat.

I should be banned from entering Waterstones quite frankly. I know for a fact that I can get books so much cheaper on the internet yet I find myself fawning over books and before I know it I'm leaving with two or three. My poor bank account. My most recent purchases are 'The Hobbit' and 'The Fellowship Of The Ring' by J.R.R. Tolkien. Dale had introduced me to 'The Lord of the Rings' a while ago and my God those films are long. And then we went to see 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' when it came out in December. Again it's a long film, the kind of film my sister would be too fidgety to sit through but it was incredibly good - so good in fact that I found another new obsession (as if I haven't got enough as it is). I'm really enjoying the book so far and I'm glad I decided to give it a go.